2006 Spring Gobbler Season Harvest Data

The 2006 spring wild turkey hunting season ran from Saturday, April 15 (Youth Turkey Hunting Day) through Friday, May 26 with a total harvest of 3,524 male wild turkeys. While this harvest is not a record (the highest harvest was 3,779 turkeys taken in 2002), it is the third-highest harvest in New Jersey since the first season in 1981.

An increase of 8.0% over the 2005 harvest was measured and this correlates with turkey productivity in 2005 being higher than in 2004. The harvest data, which is currently being processed, should demonstrate that two-year-old birds made up a substantial percentage of the harvest as compared to 2005 and 2004.

Turkey hunting areas in north-central parts of the state were more affected by poor productivity conditions during the past few years and most of these areas showed slight decreases in harvest. Most turkey hunting areas in southern New Jersey, however, showed marked increases in harvest, probably due to better productivity in those areas.